Totem Mani2 Sigs vs Tyler Linbrook Sig monitors

This should be interesting. Both have great reputations and would definitely be in my crosshairs if I wasn't already happy with my ProAc Response 2.5s. Even then I still think about these two speakers.

Many components have passed through my listening rooms, but only one set remains, the Totem Mani-2s. I have opeated them with an Audio Research VT-100, a McIntosh MC-252, a McIntosh MHT-100, a pair of Cary 300B monoblocks, and a restored/upgraded Dynaco ST-35. No matter what, they are steller performers. And organ pedal notes reproduced through these speakers have to be heard to be believed!

Man, you got the right person with this question. I used to own a pair of Mani-2. I now own a pair of Tylers 7Us. The 7Us are a SMALL floor standing model that is very simular to the Tyler Linbrook Sig monitors. In my option no comparison. The Tylers take it. First of all they do not need a large powerfull amp to sound good. Buy a good 150 watt amp and a tube pre-amp and you are all set. The Totems need a really $ amp to sound good. Secondly the the Mani-s are way over priced. $4,000 dollars for a pair of small speakers that contains at the most $600 dollars worth of parts. Give me a break! I have built a few pairs of speakers so I know what I am talking about. The biggest think I have against the Totems is that they have a small sweet spot. Move around the room and they sound very different, and I do not mean for the better. Both speakers have Seas tweeters, but the Tylers have the better Millennium tweeter. Do yourself a favor, and buy the Tylers and get a better speaker and save yourself some money.

Teikinas,

The mani-2’s need a larger amp due to the engineering of the speaker design, payable to the laws of physic, presupposing you are familiar with the laws of physics (being you have built…a few speakers) when you cram an iso-barik configuration into a small cabinet and still maintain a flat FC, you are obviously going to sacrifice efficiency, that’s twice the moving mass (not to mention you are comparing them to a floor-standers). Considering the drivers used, the cabinet structure complexity, and the overall quality of the speaker the $4,000 price tag is applicable.

Keep in mind Vince designed these speakers as a statement. You are getting all the benefits of a mini-monitor while achieving the low end response (surpassing it in most cases) of a floor-stander. The parts utilized exceed $600, the engineering that goes into the cabinet, high quality WBT parts, no-compromise crossover, and dynaudio/seas drivers plus the man hours HAND-ASSEMBLING these speakers (not to mention the beautiful finish) far exceed your dim guesstimate of $600.

And even if the parts cost is $600, a $4,000 MSRP is not unreasonable. Some of you folks need to take a business class. OTOH, Tyler sells direct, so the consumer realizes a price advantage.